Sold Pharmaceuticals Worth 140 Million Won in SNS Open Chat Room, Including Growth Hormone Products
"Serious Side Effects When Administered... Should Not Be Used and Must Be Disposed of Immediately"
The Ministry of Food and Drug Safety announced on July 14 that it had referred an individual, identified as A, to the prosecution on charges of violating the Pharmaceutical Affairs Act for selling unapproved pharmaceuticals, including steroids, that were either imported from overseas or illegally manufactured domestically.
According to the Ministry, from November 2023 to April of this year, A created an open chat room to sell steroid preparations and growth hormone products. In this chat room, A provided information about the types, uses, and price lists of the pharmaceuticals, received orders from approximately 200 buyers, and sold pharmaceuticals worth about 110 million won through parcel delivery. These pharmaceuticals were either imported from overseas (India) direct-purchase websites or purchased from B, an unlicensed manufacturer and distributor of pharmaceuticals.
A also sold domestically approved prescription drugs, such as liver function enhancers, worth about 30 million won, which buyers commonly take together with steroids to reduce side effects.
It was confirmed that A purchased steroids using unapproved channels such as overseas direct-purchase websites, which A became familiar with while working as a health trainer in the past. To evade law enforcement, A mainly paid in cash for the pharmaceuticals and falsified the sender's name and address when shipping the pharmaceuticals by parcel delivery.
The Ministry of Food and Drug Safety stated that it is continuing additional investigations into B, the domestic unlicensed manufacturer and distributor of pharmaceuticals, and others, as further criminal activities were uncovered during the investigation.
The confiscated steroid preparations are synthetic steroids (anabolic steroids) that promote protein synthesis. When administered, they can cause serious side effects such as immune system destruction, sexual dysfunction, heart disease, and liver cancer. Therefore, they are classified as prescription drugs that cannot be used without a doctor's prescription.
The Ministry of Food and Drug Safety emphasized, "These illegal steroid preparations have not been proven safe and may cause bacterial infections when self-administered. They should never be used and must be disposed of immediately."
© The Asia Business Daily(www.asiae.co.kr). All rights reserved.
